Mining Mystery
by Crackpairingsarefun
Summary: The mines in Volcano Island are quite grueling, and only the toughest people can get to the last floor. Chelsea is not one of those people. She starts to wonder who keeps carrying her home after working herself too hard.


The mines. Two hundred and fifty five floors of rock,hot lava, and junk ore. However, if one dug long enough they could come across quite a few ores and gems, ranging from the not as expensive copper to the highly sought after and admired Pink Diamond. The mines were quite grueling, and only someone with enough stamina could get to the lowest floors without losing consciousness.

Chelsea,however, was not one of those people. God knows she tried, she did, but the poor farm owner never got past the 8th level of the mine, and cursed at herself every morning when she woke up in her bed after getting a face full of dirt the evening before. She never questioned how she got back home, she was far too annoyed with herself for that on numerous occasions. Still, it happened enough, and one day, while talking to Denny, did it get pointed out.

"Chelsea," The chocolate skinned boy began. " How do you get back? "

The brunette girl blinked,realizing he was right. She went poker faced for a moment, as though in thought, and opened her mouth to speak, only to close it again. After a moment, the farmer gave her simple answer.

"I don't know."

Days passed and the girl continued to think about this subject,racking her brain for an answer. Isaac or Slater? No, those two never went past the first floor. The only other people she ever saw near Volcano island were Kirk the boatman,Lily,Will, and Regis. The farmhand quickly ruled out Kirk,seeing as he was busy boating everybody around. Raising a thin brow, Chelsea considered her last three options.

Could it have been Lily? The woman certainly seemed more athletically built than Chelsea, probably from her days of adventuring and treasure collecting. Still, Lily was slimmer than the brunette, and Chelsea shook her head. It couldn't be Lily, the farmer would be too much for her to carry, especially with all her gear,as well as any gear Lily might have had on her at the time.

So what about Will? The heir may have been on the island often, but he never went inside, and many times he was there to see Lily, or because Regis had asked his nephew to accompany him. Those facts aside, Will had never worked a day in his life, he certainly wouldn't have been able to carry a woman and all her tools the whole way back to the ranch. So that left...

Regis. Chelsea simply laughed. She had gotten to know the man well enough over the past two years, and the man hardly lifted a finger to help anyone but his daughter. And while Regis did enter the mines often, he was more concerned about the company than his neighbor's well-being. Besides, only Goddess knows what he was like under his cape and suit. Chelsea had always figured him skinny, something she had decided over one of their many meetings when she would give him ore, or gelatin. They had an... odd friendship, but she really didn't believe Regis would carry her home.

Well, she had ruled them all out! So who else could it be? They were the only ones on the island! Realizing she was back to square one, Chelsea groaned. She was getting nowhere in this mini mystery much to her chagrin, and buried her face in her gloved hands.

There was only one way to find out now.

* * *

Chelsea had made it down to the 9th floor this time. She beamed, then frowned. She had come down here to fake losing consciousness and find out who her mysterious 'hero' was, but the farm girl couldn't contain her curiosity as the ore filled stone shone and sparkled in the light of the molten rock that lit up the caves. She bit her lip, yearning to hammer away at the tempting rocks and yet... She had used quite a bit of stamina on the way down, falling through holes and tilling for the stairs. She still had energy left! She could feel it! Nodding in approval of her decision, the brunette hammered and tilled away, digging up junk ore and black herbs. Her energy was wearing thin, but she could keep going. She knew she could...

That was, until, she was to her limit, and the iron hammer dropped from her hand and onto the dirt. She followed suit, dropping to her knees, her cheek colliding with the hard ground soon after. "Dammit..." The young woman tried her hardest to keep her eyes open, the memory of her initial plan coming back. She couldn't pass out! Not yet! Still, her eyelids felt heavy, and they soon closed, but not before catching a small glimpse of pointed dress shoes.

* * *

Thin lips curled into an upside down crescent. Regis sighed, shifting the sleeping girl in his arms. She should have known better, but every time she passed out in the mines, and he carried her home. His conscience never let him leave her there. Of course, he grumbled and complained quietly to himself the whole time, but as time went on, and the two had become closer with their strange friendship, the complaining slowly started to cease. Nowadays, the older man would simply smile when he tucked her into her bed, and left quietly. His pride never let him say anything to anyone though. And besides...

He liked a little mystery.


End file.
